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Khalil Bader and Nader Matar struck to give the Lebanese side all three points ahead of their Matchday Two meeting with Paro FC of Bhutan, while Aleppo will look to bounce back when they face Turkmenistan’s Ahal FC.
Al Ansar threatened as early as the third minute when Ahmad Khairdien released Matar down the right, with the midfielder bursting into the box and delivering an inviting cross that Elhadji Malick Tall failed to connect with.
Another chance went begging three minutes later when Bader pounced on a loose ball and skipped past his marker before squaring for Tall, only for Aleppo’s Jordan to do just enough to foil the forward.
Another chance went begging three minutes later when Bader pounced on a loose ball and skipped past his marker before squaring for Tall, only for Aleppo’s Jordan to do just enough to foil the forward.
The Syrian side threatened in the 14th minute when Anas Al Dahhan delivered an outside-of-the-boot cross towards Ahmed Al Ahmed, but the Al Ansar defence cleared the danger.
Al Ansar were let off the hook on the half-hour mark when Alef Firmino raced onto Zakaria Hanan’s through ball and surged into the box, only to drag his shot narrowly wide of the left post.
Al Ansar were let off the hook on the half-hour mark when Alef Firmino raced onto Zakaria Hanan’s through ball and surged into the box, only to drag his shot narrowly wide of the left post.
However, the Lebanese side broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time when Bader cut past two markers from the left before unleashing a powerful effort from outside the area that looped over Aleppo goalkeeper Shaher Al Shakir into the top right corner.
Group A: Al Ansar FC (LBN) v Al Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo SC (SYR)
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Aleppo pushed for an equaliser after the restart, with Firmino forcing a save from Al Ansar custodian Hadi Kanj in the 50th minute before Zakaria Hanan fired narrowly wide of the top right corner from distance.
But Al Ansar kept their cool and doubled their lead four minutes later when Matar met Hicham Khalfallah’s deflected cross, with his shot coming off Jordan’s back before crossing the line.
But Al Ansar kept their cool and doubled their lead four minutes later when Matar met Hicham Khalfallah’s deflected cross, with his shot coming off Jordan’s back before crossing the line.
The Syrian outfit came close to reducing the deficit in the 88th minute when Al Dahhan weaved past the Al Ansar defence into the box, only to see his powerful low drive parried away by Kanj, as Al Ansar held on to seal the win.
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